The Daughter of Nike
by SkittlesForTheWorld
Summary: Emerald, a girl who is a trained agent of the Gods, rescues Nico di Angelo. What she didn't know is it is part of a prophecy to Close the Doors of Death. Her past is out to get her. Can Nico help her conquer it?
1. Chapter 1

Being caught and held hostage gives you a lot to think about. I mean honestly, being put to work for the majority of your stay anywhere tends to get a tad boring.

Okay, really boring.

I was so stupid for letting Gaea capture me. Especially when I let her capture me in my father's own realm. I had promised Hazel that I would make it back safe and not get myself captured. Shows how much control over my life I had. I knew it was at least a week or two since she had taken me from the Underworld.

I was in Wyoming, straight above a super volcano. Gaea had me building her fortress for when she returns from Greece. She overlooks the Half-bloods who are going on the quest, saying that there was no way the Half-bloods would defeat her prized children. She also had pointed out that they were going in the wrong direction if they wanted to close the Doors of Death.

At the end of the day Gaea's guards would lead me to my room- I was always too weak from her forcing me to use my powers, so there was no way for me to best anyone without a weapon. Normally, the fortress was an eerie sort of quiet. Today I could hear the crashing of metal upon metal down the hall towards the center of the fortress.

I was nervous, seeing as there never had been a fight here since I've arrived. I put my hand against the black obsidian wall and concentrated, taking the time to mold the rock into a sizable dagger that broke off into my hand. I grasped it tighter as the crashing got nearer. I could hear yells as someone ran down the hall. Footsteps grew louder and seemed to get close, and after a long minute a tall girl with a pair of green sunglasses burst through the door. She wielded a two foot Celestial Bronze sword with designs etched into the metal- most I could see of victories of past heroes.

"Hello, Nico di Angelo." The mysterious girl said as she smiled at me. She had shining purple black hair that reminded me of a raven's feather. It was pulled into a tight bun with small wisps of hair falling into her face. Her sunglasses prevented me from seeing what color her eyes were, however I could tell she was analyzing me.

Her outfit matched her green sunglasses. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a body hugging grey tee-shirt, and a pair of sparkling emerald converse that had wings attached to both sides of each shoe.

She looked like a lethal angel.

Noticing my pathetic weapon, she laughed a melodic laugh. "Here, your sword will be way more useful to you." She said as she tossed me my skull ring. I carefully twisted it, and to my surprise, my 3 foot Stygian Iron sword popped out.

"Where did you get this?" I asked as I examined it. "I know for a fact Gaea had it guarded.

She shrugged. "Pfft. The guards were almost way too easy to get past." She answered as she looked out the door. She was carrying a green shoulder bag, and from it she drew a Celestial Bronze throwing knife. I heard the impact of the blade as she turned her attention back towards me. "Come on!" She said as she motioned for me to follow her.

I stood where I was. "Do I know you?"

"No," She replied exasperated. "You don't know me."

"Then why are you here, risking your life to save me?"

"For the thrill?" She replied. She sighed when I didn't move. "Fine. A mutual… friend of ours asked me to step in and save you. Now, let's go. We don't have a lot of time."

I sighed, knowing I didn't have much of a choice. I wouldn't be able to get myself out of this prison, and I knew it. I had to rely on her help, even if I did not have any idea who she was working for her, and who she actually was. "Fine," I answered as I followed her out the door. She took off running down the dark and damp tunnel, making turns as if she didn't even think about which way to go.

She was graceful and hard to surprise. She made quick work of any opponent that stood in front of us, and barely let me get my hands dirty. She knew the exact weak points of each and every thing we attacked. One time her sword was flung out of her hands. Instead of losing her cool she simply backed away, pulled out a throwing knife, and hit the dracaena in its weak point.

I couldn't figure out how she did it, but we stopped at the end of the corridor. A door leading to the room that led outside stood in front of us. I remembered it from where I was brought in. It was the only entrance and exit this fortress had that I knew about.

"There are twelve Dracaena in the room, stationed particularly to keep you and I from leaving. Gaea's gotten word of my rescue and doubled the guards I killed to get in. Nico, if you're not at full strength, I'd really suggest you'd call up a gladiator or something." She said as she put a strand of hair behind her ear. She was ruffling through her bag as I called up the Roman Gladiator. I thought came to me.

"How did you know I could call up the dead?"

"You're a son of Hades. I came put two and two together." She replied under her breath as she continued searching through her bag for something. She smiled a slightly psychotic smile as she pulled out a jar of Greek fire. "This will do the trick." She said as she backed up a couple of feet from the door. "Once the Greek fire burns a hole big enough through the door, run in and make it to the door. Swim upwards and you'll reach a beat up pickup truck. The keys are under the gas notch, open it and unlock the door."

"You act as though you don't see yourself getting out of here." I said dryly as I carefully looked at her. She was calm, calmer than I was. She reminded me of Thalia and Annabeth both, brave, smart, courageous. Although she wasn't Annabeth's kind of smart, she was more cunning.

"I do plan on getting out of here. I'm telling you the plan so if I'm knocked out or killed you have to ability to make it away safely." She replied as she threw the jar against the wall. It shattered upon impact, and within seconds she was able to jump through a hole she made. I was stunned, but quickly followed with the gladiator trailing behind me. She had already killed two dracaena and was engaged in a fight with another two, her shoulder bleeding from where a sword pierced it.

In an instant two dracaena attacked me. I dodged, parried and stabbed until there were not any enemies left. The girl, I still had no idea what to call her, leaned up against the wall bleeding heavily. Her shoulder wound was dripping blood and looked painful.

"Stupid dracaena. Never go for a fair fight." She said through clenched teeth. Her other hand was shaking as she attempted to put a bit of nectar on the wound. I took the thermos away and did it for her.

"What's your name?" I asked as I recapped the thermos. She had to be my age, maybe a little bit older. Her sunglasses her pushed on top of her head and her eyes were a startling green, but not like Percy's sea green."

She thought for a moment before answering. "Emerald." She said it as if she had just decided to call herself that. She looked behind her where we could still hear sirens going off. "Nico, we've got to leave while we have the chance too." She said as she walked over to the door, pulling it open. Water gushed in as she held her breath and jumped in.

I had no choice but to follow her.


	2. Chapter 2

I was free. Free. The word danced upon my lips as I awoke in a rugged, broke down house. I was sure I fell asleep in the truck as Emerald had drove on through the night. None of Gaea's forces had chased us, something that clearly bothered her. She was nervously back tracking all across Montana's back roads as a precaution. After an hour of zero conversation and the vibrations of the truck, I was down for the count.

She had to have carried me in from the truck by herself, which was impressive seeing as her shoulder was dripping blood as she drove. I tried to get her to stop and let someone look at it or at least have her look at it, but she was too stubborn.

I didn't know what to make of that girl, Emerald. She was beautiful, and definitely would be someone I would have recognized if I've ever met her before. She reminded me of two of the most dangerous girls I knew, Thalia and Annabeth. She had an edge on her, like she was analyzing you whenever she looked at you and deciding what the best way was to kill you.

Emerald. A name like that made me question whether that was her actual name; no one really names her daughter that.

And she had deadly accuracy. She seemed to be proficient in at least throwing knives, daggers, and swords. She didn't seem to use any special powers, and definitely wasn't a daughter of the Big Three, or any of the Olympian gods. She was stubborn as Hades too, I realized now that I thought of it.

She walked in the room wearing a pair of blue jeans and her emerald converse. She was floating slightly off the ground, and it was as if flying was her second nature. She wore a black v neck with a deep emerald tank top underneath. She floated around the cliché Western styled room before turning her attention towards me. Her shoulder had white bandages around it, covered by her sleeve and her bag strap.

"Good morning sleepy head." She said with a smile as she landed on the balls of her feet. She didn't even make a sound. Her sunglasses were on her head and her green eyes stared at me. Her hair was in the same bun as before, just messier.

"You really like the color green." I noted as I watched her. She chuckled as she sat on the opposite edge of the couch.

"Maybe I do. How're you feeling? You've been asleep for quite a while." She said as she stared at me in interest. It was hard to look her straight in the eyes.

"Better, I feel more regenerated than I have in quite a while." I admitted to her. "Gaea had me building walls in her fortress."

She nodded as she thought. "Because you're a son of Hades and can manipulate the Earth." She said as she stared around the room. She looked like she was trying to decide something, but wasn't sure what the right choice was. "Nico, there's some food in the kitchen. Help yourself while I message Camp." She hopped off the couch as I did.

I grabbed her on the bicep to pull her towards me, but she spun with such speed I quickly dropped her arm. Her eyes were ablaze and she held a silver dagger in her hand, one that I've only seen Hunters of Artemis use. A look passed over her face as she pulled her arm out of my grasp and sheathed the dagger. "Sorry," She said as she looked away. "Force of habit."

No one I've ever grabbed has reacted to me in that way, as if I was an enemy to be killed. "Why don't we get out of here and get moving, find somewhere to eat along the way." I said as I took a step back from her, just to be safe. My hand casually hung by where my sword was on my belt.

Her eyes immediately picked up on what my position was, and took a step back as if she knew I was worried she'd explode in a fit of rage. After a deep breath she pursed her lips and looked around the room. "I don't know," She said hesitantly. "No one has ever found this place."

"That may be," I replied "But this is Gaea, the all-knowing earth goddess. She probably has forces on the way. Her minions are stronger than what anyone's ever faced."

She looked away from me, obviously deep in thought. A long second passed over when she finally replied. "Fine." She said as she walked up the stairs in the left corner. I stood there awkwardly until she came downstairs with a large plastic bag of ambrosia; a box of what I thought seemed to be throwing knives, and a picture she quickly shoved in her pocket. I raised my eyebrows at the amount of weapons she was caring.

She didn't bat an eye as she gathered other little supplies found around the house. In the end we managed to leave with a box of throwing knives, a bag of ambrosia, a green duffle bag full of what appeared to be clothes, two canteens of nectar, a Celestial Bronze shield, and a set of shining white armor which she looked at with hate… but love at the same time.

Wordlessly, she led me back out to the truck and put everything behind the seat of the truck. It had to have been charmed to hold more than it was made to, because there was no other way all of this could have fit there.

We had driven about ten miles down the road when Emerald finally said a word. "Assumptions get you nowhere, Nico di Angelo." She said sourly. "You have no idea who I've faced and who I've battled." Her eyes seemed to be misty as she flipped her shades over her eyes.

"I've got no choice but to make assumptions." I replied easily as I looked over at her. "I know pretty much nothing about you. All I know is that you go by the name Emerald, you're deadly and dangerous," She smirked as I said that, shifting into a higher gear. "And some sort of friend of both of ours persuaded you to come rescue me."

"I think that is a sufficient amount of information." She said shortly as I assumed she looked at me out of the corner of her eye.

I sighed. "Then don't get mad when I make assumptions, because I have to. I know nothing about you, gods, I don't even know your parent!"

"Nike." She replied straight back to me. "I'm the daughter of Nike, the goddess of strength, speed and victory. She rides with either Zeus or Athena into battles."

Nike. It suddenly made a whole lot of sense now, seeing how easily she was able to kill the monsters. "Your sunglasses," I decided to guess on this, knowing if I was wrong she'd just bottle up again. "They're a gift from your mother ."

She nodded. "Yes, they show me the path to victory whether it is how to win a battle or how to leave somewhere."

"And the shoes?"

"Also a gift. My mother is one of the last winged deities. The shoes are a symbol that I'm her daughter."

I tried to think whether I've seen her in the Hermes cabin before. "Did you go to Camp at all?" I asked curiously, wanting to keep our conversation going.

She thought for a moment. "Sorta," She admitted as she drove along. "I was at Camp for a total of about five days. Then I left."

She rubbed her sunglasses and muttered something that sounded like a curse under her breath. "Hang on." She half said half yelled as she slammed on the brakes, skidding the car to a stop. I had been watching out the side window and looking at Emerald.

I looked out the dashboard only to see a woman of about twenty standing in the middle of the road wearing a short Greek chifton dress. She held a short sword in her right hand, and a shield in her right. Her brown hair was braided into a French braid that went down her back. Emerald must had recongnized her, even though I had no idea who she was.

"Who is she?" I asked as we both stared at her. She made her way towards us as both Emerald and I jumped out of the truck, our weapons out.

"Iphigenia. You're one of the ones Gaea has brought back?" Emerald asked sourly as she watched the woman come closer.

Iphigenia smirked. "Why yes, darling. And boy does Gaea have some plans for you." She smiled as she looked over at both of us. "It's impressive that you came back for the son of Hades. Trying to save one boy after you let one die? It won't work, you know." She bared her teeth as she charged at both of us, her sword high in the air.

Emerald was practically paralyzed as I rushed to meet Iphigenia's attack.


	3. Chapter 3

Iphigenia wasn't the worst looking female I've fought. She also wasn't the best at sword fighting. She swung, I parried and stabbed her straight through the chest. Once my sword touched her body she burst into the golden dust.

"Emerald?" I asked quietly as she stared off to where Iphigenia had come from. "Are you alright?" She hadn't moved since Iphigenia had spoken, even as she attacked.

She shook her head, not in denial, but as if to clear her head. "Yeah," She croaked as she bent down and tossed me a sword. It was what Iphigenia had used, made of Celestial Bronze. "Spoil of the kill." She said as she started walking towards the truck.

She and I both got back in and she drove off, definitely going faster than the speed limit. Emerald must have masked the truck with mist to keep cops from noticing.

I studied Emerald as we drove along. Her face was like a street face, unreadable. I have never seen her like that, so I took it as something was bothering her.

"Who was Iphigenia in myths?" I asked after what seemed like an hour of silence. In reality, it was about twenty minutes.

"Iphigenia was a mortal daughter of Agamemnon. She was sacrificed to the goddess Artemis so the Greek ships could sail to Troy and destroy it." Emerald said without looking at me. Her voice held no emotion, her motions were fluid but not rash in anger. "She's mortal, so Gaea must have led her through the Doors of Death."

"She's not much of a fighter." I stated as I watched Emerald's face for any change of emotion.

None.

Emerald nodded. "She's not one for fighting, she's more for one to get in her opponents head. In the myth she almost managed to convince her father not to kill her."

"Like how she got in your head."

Something shifted in Emerald's face as she changed the subject. "Your sword is Stygian Iron, right?"

"Yeah," I answered, unsure of where she was going with this. "Why?"

"Your hit on Iphigenia wasn't fatal at all, it was the sword that hurt her. That's the reason she burst. There has to be a tie with undead and rock from the Underworld." Emerald said as we slowed down, reaching Cheyenne, Wyoming.

"Nico, I'm starved. Let's get something to eat." She said as we turned off into a McDonalds right off the interstate.

* * *

><p>About ten minutes later Emerald and I were chowing down on scrumptious McDonald fries. Emerald had ran into the bathroom and changed once more. Her hair was in messy curls down her back and her shades sat on top of her head. She wore black skinny jeans and a silver see-through shirt with a deep green tank top underneath.<p>

I finally couldn't hold out much longer. "Emerald, what did Iphigenia mean?"

Her hand, which gripped a fry, hovered frozen in the air. "What do you mean?"

"She said something about saving one boy after letting another die." I knew she knew exactly what I was talking about, because something flashed across her face when I asked. "Geez, Em, you're like a trained secret agent. I mean you can hide your emotions off your face."

She gave a soft grin. "Thanks." She bit into the fry and picked up another.

"What did she mean?"

Emerald sighed, seeing as for once I wasn't going to just let up when she gave me the silent treatment. "Luke. I let Luke join Kronos and die when it should have been me."

"You knew Luke?"

"I arrived with him at camp." She must have realized what I was thinking. "My mom made everyone except Chiron, Luke and Annabeth forget that I had even been to camp once I left."

"Why?"

"Zeus ruled it to be so. Every generations there is… an agent of the gods that can search out Half-bloods, hunt monsters, do the gods bidding. They are always a child of a minor god or goddess, so they do not have a certain allegiance to any of the twelve Olympians, which makes them safer."

It made sense, a majority of the demi-gods who came in by themselves had described a girl who no one knew about. Chiron or Annabeth, depending on who was being told, would smile and say they should be glad she had been there. I could see it was almost painful for her to tell me this. "Where did you train then?"

Something beeped inside her bag and she pulled it out. It looked like an iPad, only instead of the light up Apple, a symbol of Hermes, the caduceus. It also had a green metal around it instead of the normal silver, and was held in a green plus case.

"Hold that thought." She said as she put it back in her satchel. "Artemis and Apollo want to talk to us."

"This is good, right?" I asked as we both got up. She nodded with a smile.

"Yes, Apollo and Artemis are the two Olympians who are assigned to watch over me." She paused as she looked at me. "And you should thank Artemis, she's the one who assigned me to rescue you."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry it's short, it just seemed like a good place to stop. I'll try to have the next one up soon.<br>**


	4. Chapter 4

"Artemis?" I asked flabbergasted. Artemis was the leader of the Hunters of Artemis, a group of girls who ran around killing things and were basically immortal. They swore off guys in the price of this. My sister, Bianca, became a Hunter when I was ten and went on a quest to save Artemis. She died. Bianca always told me my fatal flaw was holding a grudge, so I strived to forgive the Hunters. "She's the one who had you rescue me?" I asked as I grabbed her arm.

Emerald nodded. "Yes, she gave the assignment to me. Honestly, she gave it to me about an hour before I came in after you. She said I didn't have a lot of time."

I opened my mouth to ask why, something I've been doing a lot lately, but she shook her head. "I don't want to keep them waiting." She said as she walked out the door of McDonalds. We both looked towards the truck where two teenagers stood. Artemis wore standard hunter gear with grey camouflage pants, a silver tank top and black leather jacket with a silver tiara on her head. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a French braid, and her eyes were a bright silver yellow. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Apollo was standing next to his sister, leaning against the truck. He waved to two girls who were giggling in the distance. He looked like a model had walked off a billboard. His blond hair was messy and curly while his eyes were covered by aviators. He had on a shirt that was grey like the sky above and wore plain blue jeans and loafers. He smiled and nodded at us as we walked up.

"Congratulations on a successful mission, Emerald." Artemis said as her eyes met mine. "Welcome back, Nico di Angelo."

I bowed in front of the two, worried that if I did or said the wrong thing I'd be turned into an animal. Dandelion was bad enough. "Thank you, Lady Artemis, for sending her after me." I said with my face facing the ground.

Apollo laughed, "You don't have to bow, Nico." I straightened out of it, cheeks reddening. Artemis rolled her eyes at Apollo and looked to me.

"You're welcome, Nico. It's the least I could do for your sister, Bianca." Artemis said in a business tone. I nodded my thanks as Artemis continued, looking at Emerald now. "Emerald, we have your next assignment."

"What do you want me to do with Nico?" She asked confused as she looked between the twin gods. "I thought I was supposed to escort him to camp."

Apollo nodded. "That was the plan, however something else has come up. The Seven have left for Rome."

"And?" Emerald asked.

"And they need the Doors of Death to be closed to be able to even think of succeeding on this quest." Artemis finished for her brother.

"The Doors moved from Rome, didn't they?" I asked. Artemis pursed her lips at my interruption while Apollo nodded.

"Precisely. Gaea wants them to fail, obviously, so she manipulated them back to the United States. That's where Emerald comes in." Artemis said, almost as if it was hard to say a boy was right.

"Let me guess, my mission is to find the Doors of Death, defeat whomever is guarding them, and shut them before the seven Half Bloods fight Gaea, am I correct?" Emerald asked calmly as if impossible sounding missions happen all the time. I, on the other hand, was kind of worried for her.

Apollo smiled. "For once, sweetheart, there's a catch. There's a prophecy with this one."

Emerald bit her lip. "Let's hear it."

Honestly, it was like I wasn't even here, which I was almost glad for. Emerald on the other hand acted like talking to two of the twelve major gods and getting a quest directly from them was an everyday occurrence. "Emerald, you and I both know you have to ask a question." Apollo said teasingly as he took his sunglasses off and rubbed his hands together. Artemis rolled her eyes in annoyance and carefully watched me.

"Apollo, oracle of Delphi and slayer of the Python, how do I close the Doors of Death?" Emerald asked in a sweet tone with a big, fake smile plastered on her face to humor the god. It must have worked because before he spoke he winked at her.

_"Agent of the gods, you must go towards the mega volcano,_

_And release the one you don't know._

_You will travel to the entrance that in the West_

_Where both skills and abilities will be put to the test._

_Use magic to defeat the spirit who still holds a grudge_

_The one who sits on a throne as a judge._

_The one who died a hero will prove a guide_

_You must choose whether it was him time to die._

_The only way you defeat a giant you will need_

_The power of a god is the way you'll succeed._

_Only then can you close the Doors of Death_

_With the help of the only son of the god of a final breath."_

Emerald looked at me with wide eyes as I stared at Apollo. "Only son of god of a final breath?" I asked, looking between the two gods. "Does that mean me?"

Artemis raised her eyebrows as she looked at the two of us. "Yes, I guess it does. Nico di Angelo, I hope you're as strong enough to survive this." She said just before she burst into her true form. Emerald and I shielded ourselves as Apollo just grinned. His sister left a silver scar on the pavement.

Apollo clapped my back. "Emerald, why don't you get everything in the car I got for you two?" He asked as he stood next to me, hand on my shoulder. Emerald looked between the two of us and nodded, getting in the truck and moving it over to where a red Dodge Charger awaited. Apollo led me over to the curb and sat down, motioning for me to sit with him.

"Emerald's past is going to catch up with her on this quest." Apollo said as he watched her. "She's been avoiding it for so long, it's impressive it hasn't reached her yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I glanced at him. "Is it about what Iphigenia said?"

He nodded. "She blames herself for Luke's death. Kronos came to her first, right as we brought her to Olympus for training. He wanted to manipulate her into thinking we stole her from her friends for a horrible cause."

"You did steal her from her friends." I pointed out, hoping to not get blasted with some kind of fire, but all Apollo did was nod.

"We did, but she would have been unclaimed and bored there. Emerald is a daughter of Nike, and being that she craves adventure. Her mother wouldn't have been able to claim her at camp seeing there wouldn't be a cabin. I knew she was going to be chosen by Kronos and tried to steer her away from it. I succeeded.

"But once she learned of Luke going over to Kronos' side she trained harder and harder, determined to be able to protect whoever the prophecy was made for. However, Kronos realized this and sent Khione to capture her. Only by my intervention was Emerald able to win. Artemis and I took her out of the world and put her to sleep for the rest of the war, because we both knew Kronos would come after her."

"But now Gaea's using that against her." I said as Emerald was walking over to us. Apollo nodded as he stood up and pulled me up.

"Yes, and you need to protect her." He muttered as he turned to Emerald and gave her a hug. "Good luck, sweetheart!" He said with a smile as he showed his True Form and teleported away.

Emerald sighed. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I replied, butterflies in my stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe Apollo gave us a Charger." I said for probably the eighth time as we peeled down the interstate towards Los Angeles.

Emerald smiled. "Yea, he's pretty cool like that. Except the truck kind of sucked, it really didn't want to go to a hundred."

I paled as I looked at the speedometer. "We're going a hundred and forty miles per hour." I said, hoping the speedometer was broken.

Her smiled widened. "Yep!" She said cheerfully as we flew by other cars. "Don't worry, I've covered it with Mist so people don't even recognize that there is a car flying by. Cops can't even see it."

"Cause that's what I'm worried about, not the fact that we're going sixty-five mph over the speed limit." I said dryly as I looked at the window.

She smirked. "Live a little." She muttered as we drove along. "You sure the entrance in the west is the entrance in LA?"

"Has to be." I replied as I sat back against the seat. "The Doors of Death are in the Underworld, and it seems as though the majority of this prophecy is there too."

Emerald nodded, "That makes sense."

I thought for a moment. Emerald, emerald doesn't seem like a name someone would name their child. "You're a secret agent for the gods, right?"

"Pretty much, why?" I could tell her 'secret agent face' as I know dubbed it was on, but her voice had a hint of happiness so I took it as a go ahead.

"Emerald is a codename, isn't it?" I asked her. "That's why most don't remember you, if they would hear your real name they would, but you use a codename."

A soft smile was on her face. "Congrats, most people don't notice. It took even Annabeth awhile to figure out Emerald was my new name."

I stared out the window for another couple of minutes. Then started drumming on the dash. Then went back to staring out the window. I think I did this for about twenty minutes, my ADHD kicking in, and Emerald must have been watching me out of the corner of her eye because she spoke up.

"Nico, why don't we pull over and spar for a bit?" She asked with a gleam in her eye. "I want to practice using two swords."

"Sure." I said with a smile as she pulled down a dirt road. After about a mile of no cars she stopped and got out, popping the trunk as I got out of the car. She dug through it and came around with two short swords, one made of Imperial Gold and the other the silver Artemis uses. Both swords had the same emerald in the hilt as her Celestial Bronze sword, which made me wonder if they turned into clips also.

She stood in front of me, a sword in either hand. She had changed before we started driving saying she couldn't drive in jeans. I was getting curious about how many outfits she had, and when she'd run out of green and go a day without wearing the color.

She wore green sofees over a pair of black spandex and a black shirt with the word wanted stamped across it in neon green. The sleeves were cut off so her shirt was tucked into a neon green sports bra. Her hair was still down, cascading around her which could be used as an advantage.

I was trying to stare her down as I would like Percy, but it just wasn't happening. Instead, I kept thinking about how beautiful she looked right now. Which sucked, because I really didn't want to get my butt kicked.

"C'mon, Nico, I'll even let you make the first move!" She called while standing about a hundred feet away from me. "Trust me, the swords will hit a barrier once they reach half an inch above your body, but you'll still feel the blow. No cuts."

I didn't even want to ask her how in Hades she managed to set that up. I twisted my ring and grabbed my Stygian Iron sword, and grabbed a coin out of my jacket and pressed inward, becoming a three foot in diameter pitch black obsidian shield.

She smiled as she waited and flicked a piece of hair out of her face as I charged. She stood straight as she was when she was waiting for me until I raised my sword to hit at her side. She raced at me with her two swords, but before I reached her she instead jumped and flipped over me.

In my confusion she slashed at my back which immediately threw me to the ground. I quickly rolled over and pushed up with my shield, blocking her slash at my back. I lifted my back and jumped up, swiping at her and barely missing as she ducked her head and jabbed at me.

We sparred for a good ten minutes before I had lost my shield, and then it took five minutes until I lost my sword also.

She and I were both facing each other, and of course she still had both her swords with her. She charged and slashed at me to the right which I blocked, which made her swing over and knock my blade out of my hand. However, she lost both her blades in this, but she managed to unsheathe a dagger and point it at my neck.

We were merely inches away from each other as I stared into her sparkling emerald eyes. She was about three inches shorter than me which made me have to look a bit down. We were both breathing heavy as we stared at each other straight in the eyes.

Let me tell you something. It took a lot of will power not to kiss her right then and there. Just saying.

She smiled for a moment then backed away sheathing her dagger and grabbing her two swords. I retrieved my sword and shield and turned them back into their normal items. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something flying at me, and turned around to catch a water bottle. I opened it up and took a swig as I went to sit by Emerald. She was leaning with her back against a tree and patting a spot next to her. After both of us were breathing normally she spoke.

"You're a really good swordsman." She said as she took another sip of water.

"Sure," I replied rolling my eyes. "I got beat in fifteen minutes."

She sighed. "I've been trained by the gods to fight Titans and Giants and all that jazz. It's supposed to be no demi-god could beat me. Besides, I always win."

"You can never lose?" I asked curious. She thought for a moment.

"I will always win my task. If I set out to destroy Gaea and fight her, I would win. However, I would most likely die."

"But then you'd lose." I said, confused. "You'd lose your life."

"But I'd win my mission. That's why children of Nike are usually honored with being the agent of the gods. No matter what task we're given we will always win. But if it's a really hard one, we'll most likely lose our lives."

I thought about this for a moment. Always winning, no matter what the price was didn't always sound like the best idea. "How much power do you have, anyways? I'm pretty sure my left arm should be chopped off, but your wards or whatever they are stopped it. You did a flip over me, mind you I'm five foot eleven, with not even much of a running start."

"My mother is Nike, goddess of strength, speed, and victory so I'm naturally faster and stronger than normal demigods. Then, Artemis and Apollo both took me under their wing, and blessed me with certain qualities. I can use a bow better than most, and I can heal myself. Artemis made me faster and stronger than most children of Nike.

"Also, when I do a job a god or goddess may pay me back for it by blessing me, especially the minor gods and goddesses. I got back Morpheus' dream bomb last month and I've got a bit of Dream Powder. And one time I helped Aeolus do a weather broadcast and he gave me a small control over winds. I retrieved Hecate's staff from some of Gaea's forces, so she took a month and trained me in magic."

I was at a lost. She was powerful, more powerful than Percy or Thalia. I opened my mouth to speak, but was stopped by Emerald putting a finger to her lips.

Scutter scutter. It sounded like a million little legs were running towards us from all directions. We both jumped up, Emerald with her back against mine trying to figure out where they were coming from.

And then I saw her. A pretty woman with long flowing brown hair and carrying a bundle was running towards us.

But not on human legs, no, she had eight legs.

Eight furry legs.

Eight furry, gross, wolf spider legs.

"Arachne." Emerald cursed as she stood next to me. Her eyes widened at what Arachne was carrying.

What Apollo said ran through my head as I tried to take it all in_. Emerald's past is going to catch up with her on this quest. _And I've got to protect her from it.

I put myself in front of Emerald and pushed her back a couple steps as Arachne stopped in front of us, twenty feet away. She smiled wide.

"Hello Emerald, daughter of Nike, pawn of the gods. Do you like what I've brought you?"


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm not a pawn of the gods." Emerald spat as she stared at Arachne. "And I'd like it if you dropped the son of Hermes and called off your ugly children."

Arachne hissed as she dropped Luke Castellan. Emerald cringed as he hit the ground beside the creepy spider goddess. "You dare insult a goddess? You're a fool."

Emerald moved in front of me. "Nico, take care of her little… monsters and get to Luke. I'll take her on. It'll be easy." She said as her mouth pulled back into a snarl. She was pissed, and I hadn't seen her more upset. She whipped her sunglasses over her eyes and held her two swords as she faced off with the Spider Goddess.

"See, we thought you'd like to see him once more and brought him through the Doors of Death." Arachne said as she unsheathed a short sword. "You lose, he dies. Again."

Emerald stared at Luke who weakly looked up at her. His arms and legs were both bound in chains. "Emerald, Gaea wants to break you. You were stronger than me before. If anyone can take out a goddess, it's you."

She smiled softly. "Arachne, you're going to rue coming after me during your stay in the relaxing pits of Taraturus." she said as she kicked off on her shoes, levitating half a foot above the ground. Her mouth was twisted into a smirk, and I would not be surprised if she was glaring behind her sunglasses. "Bring it." She said as she swung a sword at the spider woman.

Flames burst from the sword, shocking everyone but Luke who smiled. Arachne let out a scream as a flame hit her hand. She frantically tried to pat it out as Emerald flew in front of her and slashed, gashing her in the arm. She landed in front of Luke, both swords in a defensive position in front of the both of them. "Nico, behind you!" She yelled as she narrowly deflected one of Arachne's stabs with her sword. She faked right and slashed at Arachne, hitting her again as I stabbed a spider through the heart.

I could hear the clashed of metal on metal and heard Emerald yelp a bit. I heard swords hit the ground as I turned. "Nico, lend me your sword!" Emerald called. I threw it at her which she caught at the hilt. She swung it upwards and brought it down on the Spider Goddess and a bright light was released while I, Luke, and hopefully Em looked away.

The dust that had turned up cleared as she stood over a shell of a giant wolf spider, both hands on the hilt of my sword and driving it into the spider shell.. The releasing of Arachne's true form had disintegrated Luke's shackles. Luke ran up and caught Emerald as she slumped to the ground.

"Now I see why only children of Hades use that metal." She muttered exhausted. She had a gash underneath her left eye and a couple more on her arms. Her old shoulder wound was open again and bleeding, I noticed as I walked towards her and retrieved my blade.

"Gods, Em, I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that." I muttered as I looked at her. She gave a small smile.

"No, you're fine. It was the only way to win." However, she looked as if she was going to pass out. I reached into my bag and pulled out some Ambrosia. "Here" I said as I handed her a piece. "You'll feel better."

She muttered her thanks and swallowed the piece. Luke was supporting her weight and holding her up. "I'll be fine, just give me an hour." She looked over at Luke and a look passed between them. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. "Luke, what in Hades are you doing here?"

"Gaea captured me; I've been running errands for Thanatos lately since he's been so busy. I was on my way to Hades' palace and I had to have passed by the Doors of Death." Luke said as he held Emerald up. "They told me that they were to use me as bait to make sure you didn't finish the prophecy."

She cursed in Ancient Greek, "Luke. I'm so sorry. You were supposed to rest in peace."

"You know if you were in trouble I'd rather help you." He replied easily. He looked different than when I had last seen him as Kronos. His blond hair wasn't as shaggy before, and he was tanner.

"Nico, we need to head out in a moment." She thought for a moment. Her eyes widened as she reached the same conclusion as I did. I hated the fact that he had to come along on this quest.

"Luke, you don't have any plans while you're alive, do you?" I asked carefully. "We need your help. I tried looking for the Doors of Death, but I was captured when I wasn't even close. You were captured and went through it- you would know where it was."

He considered this for a second. "Alright." He said finally as he looked at Emerald. "You're quest leader, Emmy, what's your take?"

She nodded carefully. "Luke, you shouldn't put yourself in more danger."

"Too bad. You need me, and I've let you down more than once." He said as he pulled her into a hug. She returned it as I adverted my eyes. They released as Emerald spoke, however I would never hear what she actually had to say.

The ground rumbled beneath us like a drum and I grabbed Emerald and pulled her close to me. Persephone once called Thalia, Percy and I to the Underworld this way.

But for some reason I knew neither my father or Persephone was pulling us down.

And I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like who was.


	7. Chapter 7

I hit the solid ground of the Underworld on my back, knocking the wind out of me and loosening my grip on Emerald. She hit the ground next to me, her shoulder cut bleeding once more from the impact of falling into the Underworld. Luke must have been towards my right, but I wasn't sure. All I knew is that my head was killing me.

And we were in trouble.

The ground was shaking beneath me as I struggled to my feet, walls of dark black were rushing over top of me and boxing me in. It was if the rocks were transparent, because I could see Emerald hitting the rocks with her sword, and could hear the clanging of the metal as it hit the rock. Luke seemed to be in the same dilemma as I was, a box similar to mine was behind Emerald, although I could not see inside it.

"Whoever in Hades is doing this, show you're flipping face!" Emerald yelled as she swung her Celestial Bronze sword at the rocks that confined me. I watched in surprise as it shattered on impact. Pieces of Celestial bronze went flying, and I winced inwardly as a piece hit Emerald in the leg, making her collapse, her catching herself with her fists. I slumped against the wall of the stone in defeat, knowing if Emerald couldn't break the rocks with anything I couldn't either. I couldn't even feel the rocks using my affinity for moving them. It was as if the walls didn't exist.

I looked around the cavern we were in. We were in some sort of courthouse filled with obsidian furniture and three dark black thrones at the front. "Emerald," I yelled urgently as she turned her head towards me. Her eyes were wide and I could see she was crying. She seemed as if she was going to either lay down and sob, or go crazy and rip things to shreds. "Emerald, we're in the Judgment Pavilion, so it's King-"

"Minos." A voice boomed from the front of the Pavilion. "King Minos is my name, and I was who brought you here, Alexandra. Aren't you glad to be in my realm?"

"This is Lord Hades' realm." Alexandra/Emerald said as I looked at her in shock. I'll be honest, knowing her name was Alexandra kind of made her less… scary. It made her seem like a normal demi-god and not an agent of the gods. "And I'll kindly ask you once to let my friends go."

She made herself stand up, the tears still glistening on her cheeks as she threw her hair back into a loose ponytail while watching Minos. Her sword hilt laid on the ground, a small piece of Celestial Bronze still attached to it. Her bag was about twenty feet in front of her where the rest of her weapons were held, King Minos must have noticed that she was unarmed and hurt because he laughed.

"Alexandra, you have the smell of Death on you. You've killed many monsters and saved many. In your opinion of everything you've seen in your life, would you honestly think I'd let you guys scurry free?" He asked with a sneer. "Answer me, Daughter of Nike, pawn of the gods."

"Fine." She said as she put her sunglasses over her eyes and took a step forward. She walked with an obvious limp, and she was holding her shoulder with her hand. "No, I did not expect you to let us go free, but I've learned it never is hurtful to ask. The prophecy says we have to defeat you, and by the way you've controlled it, it's obvious that Gaea has hired you to kill me by offering you the Underworld and probably revenge on Daedalus. You're probably supposed to hand over Luke for them to kill him, and keep Nico to yourself to torture." Minos looked about ready to kill, which frightened me. Alexandra/Emerald looked so vulnerable, her left leg dripping blood as was her shoulder. Her weight was all on her right leg to try to help the one that was injured.

Minos raised his hand and thrust it towards her, and a black rock came spiraling towards her. She stood there as straight as she could and right before it hit her, raised her hand and forced it to stop. "What?" She asked as she faced him, the rock levitating in midair. "Can't face me hand to hand?"

Minos smirked while he looked down at her. "No one told me you could use magic, Alexandra. I bet if you joined Gaea, she'd let you and your friends survive."

I watched as Alexandra spat blood on the ground. "I will never go over to Gaea, and you need to be prepared to die." She yelled back at him as she thrust the rock back at King Minos. It went towards him at an alarming speed which made him have to jump out of the way. The two of them played a sort of ping pong with the rock, knocking it back and forth at each other, neither of them getting the upper hand. Every time Alexandra forced the rock back at Minos she took a step forward, as if she was trying to reach her bag. Finally, once she was a step away she dived flat to the floor as the rocked passed over her, crashing into the wall behind her. She opened the box of throwing knives, tossing them in the air and making them stay.

She glared at Minos as she raised her hand. "Any last words?" She asked bitterly as she forced them at King Minos. She watched the first one go through his chest, then turned to face Luke and I. I watched from the inside as the walls melted because of King Minos dying once more.

Alexandra turned to me and took off her sunglasses, staring at me with her violent emerald eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, closed her eyes, and collapsed to the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

"Emerald!" I yelled as I sprinted towards her. I barely missed catching her as she hit the black, Underworld ground with a thud. I didn't check her pulse, because I didn't need to. Being a son of Hades I could see a faint, but prominent ring of golden aura around her, showing that Apollo was healing her. "She's fine, Luke. Apollo's healing her." I said, relaying the information as Luke reached to check her pulse.

"Who are you?" Luke asked as he stared at me. I had to choke back a laugh, Emerald never got us properly introduced, and was now probably talking unconsciously to Apollo.

"Nico, Nico di Angelo. Son of Hades if you haven't already figured that one out." I said as I raised an eyebrow at Luke. "Look, the only time we've really met is on the battle field with your soul corrupted by Kronos. If we both want Em, Alex, whoever to survive this, we need to work together for her."

Luke nodded. "I agree." He looked down at Alex who was snoring softly. "I don't think we should wake her up."

"I don't recalling her sleeping at all in the past three days." I said while I frowned. "I could probably get a ghost to carry her with us to my father's palace and we could let her sleep it off there. She's probably completely drained from the magic."

Luke smiled. "She can't do magic. She was lucky Minos limited her to just the throwing of objects, if it got to the point of using elements, she most likely would have died."

"What do you mean?"

"She trained with Hecate, but she could barely do it without wiping herself out. Magic isn't in her blood and is only to be used at a last resort. What she used is Telekinesis, something every god and goddess can do." Luke said as he bent down and examined her leg. "Apollo will have her healed probably in the next hour then leave her to sleep. How long do you think it'll take to get to your father's?"

"I can get us there in three seconds if you trust me." I said as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a stygian iron whistle. Charles Beckendorf, before he had died, constructed it for me, giving me the ability to call Mrs. O'Leary anytime I want. Percy has one similar to me, but so far we've never both called her at once.

Luke raised his eyebrows, but didn't question me as I blew and hopefully made a sound. After what seemed like a long minute, a familiar Hellhound came barreling towards me, black fur bouncing as she ran. Luke instinctively held up a sword to attack, but I raised my hand which brought the both of them to a halt.

"Luke, this is Mrs. O'Leary, Mrs. O'Leary, Luke. She's a tame Hellhound and if you trust her, she'll Shadow Travel you into my father's palace. I'll take Emerald." I said as I matched Luke's stare. I knew he was searching for a reason to distrust me, something to hold against me and manipulate me. I sighed. _Old habits die hard. _I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. "Look, Emerald needs to sleep somewhere where she's safe. I can get her there as soon as you agree if you'd just trust me."

I took the time he was taking to actually size Luke up. He stood at about six feet, and was muscular to make up for his thinness. He had shaggy bleach blond hair that fell into his eye. His scar ran down his left eye and stood out. He wore a pair of light blue jeans and a blue zip up hoodie. I knew from watching him draw his sword that he was right handed.

I also knew he was a better sword fighter than Percy.

"Alright," He said finally as he sheathed his sword. "I'll agree, on one condition. Emerald will ride with Mrs. O'Leary and I."

I wanted to tell him no, and I probably wanted to rip his head off. I got some sort of vibe off of him, something telling me that him and Emerald at least had a thing in the past. I opened my mouth to say no, but someone else spoke for me. "Alright."

_We need to talk._ A womanly voice said in my head. I cringed, hoping Luke didn't notice. Walking up to Mrs. O'Leary as inconspicuously as possible with one, possibly two gods in your head was kind of hard. I whispered for Mrs. O'Leary to take the two of them to my father's palace.

"Mrs. O'Leary will take the both of you to the Palace. Tell my father or Persephone what's going on, and I'll be there in a bit. I need to do a run of camp quick, make sure I've gotten everything." I said, lying through my teeth. Surprisingly, Luke didn't catch it.

"Sounds good." Luke said as he gingerly placed Emerald on Mrs. O'Leary and climbed on behind her. "See you soon."

"Hold on tight." I said as I watched them, my arms crossed over my chest. He had one arm wrapped protectively around Emerald, another clenching Mrs. O'Leary.

"God speed." He said with a smirk as Mrs. O'Leary took off in a run straight into the black wall. I watched them vanish before closing my eyes.

_Where do you want to meet, Lady Artemis?_

It took a moment before she replied. _Mt. Olympus, be there as soon as possible._

I nodded as I took off, forgetting just before I hit the wall that she probably didn't see my nod. I passed through the wall easily, feeling the twists of Shadow Travel hit me. I hit the ground hard as I landed, which was pretty unusual for myself.

I slowly got up and brushed myself off, noticing to my surprise that one of the gods had changed my clothing as I traveled. Instead of my normal black jeans I wore light blue jeans that seriously needed a belt. As soon as I thought that, a black leather one appeared with a skull clasp in my hand. I was wearing a black polo with Aeropostale written on it, something that I usually saw on children of Aphrodite and not myself. A silver chain hung at my neck with a doe prancing charm on it. I examined my wrist to find two gold bracelets on each of them. My shoes were still my black converse and I had my leather jacket over my shoulder, gripped by my other hand.

"You look nice, Nico." Apollo said in front of me. "You clean up pretty well."

At his words I ran my hand over my hair and found it to be flatter than usual, but still messy and unkempt.

"He's probably wondering why the makeover." Artemis said as she came to stand at her brother's side. I slowly turned around, cursing myself for not taking notice of this sooner. I was standing in the middle of the twelve Olympians plus Hades and Hestia, and unlike how Emerald is always calm while dealing with Gods and Goddesses, I was sweating bricks.

"Err, yes." I said as I faced Lord Zeus and bowed. "Sorry for not addressing you first, I did not look about my surroundings."

Zeus nodded. "Do not make the mistake again, boy. Apollo and Artemis have agreed that you are apparently important to Alexandra and more importantly, important to killing the giant and closing the Doors of Death. Which is why we have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?" I asked as I stared about the room. Percy, I could understand all fourteen of these gods coming here for, but not for me. I'm honestly not that important.

Athena nodded. "It has come to our attention that you play a giant part in this prophecy- and if you thought Minos was bad, you'll be in for a shock. Gaea recognizes how strong Alexandra is. She wants to focus most of her army on her."

"Alexandra means defender of men, which is what she's destined to be." Aphrodite said soothingly from her throne. She stood up and as I searched her face she reminded me of Emerald. "She's an amazing girl, and you know it and love her. But if she survives this prophecy she must continue on that path. She will still be an agent of the gods."

It felt as though the world crashed down on me. I don't know what I thought before she said that. Honestly? I barely knew I was falling for her until the freaking goddess of love pointed it out. Right before pointing out that she won't be able to see me after this.

"Which is where we come in, Nico." Apollo said as he watched me. "Nike, Artemis and I have been talking along with the rest of the council. You've been protecting her and watching over her in her darkest times, and we will need you to continue to do so until the prophecy is finished."

"Of course." I said, unsure where he was getting. Athena spoke up once more.

"Nico, we'd like you and her to establish an academy for demigods to be trained as agents for the gods. With this, you must become an agent yourself."


	9. Chapter 9

I saw firsthand how powerful Emerald had become with all the training she had, and she's only about sixteen or so, a year older than me. I stared at all the Olympian faces. "You mean, you'd have me doing missions and running errands like her?"

Ares spoke up. "After a lot of training, yes."

"My son," My father addressed me as he stood up. He looked paler than usual, and his helm of Darkness sat on the arm of his chair. His dark black shimmered where I knew tortured souls were captured. "You do not need to decide right now. We have decided to give you a taste of power until the quest is over, but by then you must have your decision."

"We wanted you to wait before you were told." Percy's dad, Poseidon, surprisingly spoke up behind me. "This quest is crucial to the Seven. If you three do not succeed, there is no possible way for them to succeed also. However, the majority of the group wanted to push for this and grant you more power. Don't take our warnings lightly, Gaea is shifting her arsenal onto you two. She needs to squash you so the others don't have a chance to control the prophecy."

My head was swimming and my temples were throbbing. I wanted to know what Emerald thought about this, and what she'd have to say. Dealing with gods for about five minutes already had me drained.

"I wish to wait to decide until the end of the quest, I need to focus on that and keeping her alive." I replied finally as I ran my hand through my hair. "Afterwards, I'll come to Mt. Olympus and give my decision to you all."

Athena nodded. "A wise choice, son of Hades. We will enhance you to where it will help you with your quest. You'll need it."

Apollo was still standing in front of me. He grabbed both of the golden bracelets and I could feel the power flowing from him into it. "If you cross the bracelets together, a fire shield will pop up in front of you. Use it wisely, because it only can take a certain amount of hits."

"The doe's head can be twisted and turned into full body armor." Artemis said from behind her brother.

"And one more thing," Aphrodite said as she walked up to me. She touched me on the center of the forehead and muttered something in Ancient Greek. I felt something surge through my body as if I was shocked by electricity. "You will always be able to know if you wish to."

"Now Nico, we're going to teleport you back to your father's castle. Be ready." Apollo said as he grabbed both of my arms and I blacked out while watching the gods and goddesses shuffle around me.

* * *

><p>"Nico!" Emerald yelled as I opened my eyes. I felt a sizable knot forming on the back of my head. I groaned as I pulled myself up in a sitting position, and examined my surroundings. I was sitting on the hard, black granite floor in my father's living room. Emerald was kneeling in front of me, her face inches away from mine as she searched my face with her shockingly bright emerald green eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked as I realized she was gripping my left hand. I ran my right through my hair.<p>

"Yeah, I am. Why?" I questioned as I looked down at myself. I was still wearing the same outfit I had on from visiting the gods.

"Luke said you Shadow Traveled and never came back, and then I started worry and pacing thinking Gaea captured you again, but then you just appeared on the floor and managed to knock yourself out by hitting your head so then I got worried again and-"

"Shh," I said, placing a finger on her lips. "I'm alright, trust me. I was called to Olympus is all. They wanted to talk to me. Where's Luke?"

"Sleeping." She answered as she stared at me. She was wearing a black Columbia fleece jacket with a neon green tank top underneath. Her eyes were outlined in dark black and she wore a pair of black skinny jeans. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves of black ringlets. Her converse were at her feet and her sunglasses on her head. "What did they want?" She asked as she sat back down on the couch, never letting go of my hand. I sat down to her right.

I gave a quick rundown of my meeting with the gods. Her lips were pursed together as if she was worrying, or thinking. She looked absolutely beautiful.

Of course I left out what Aphrodite said to her.

"Apart from the defense items, I can tell the two of them upped your strength and speed." She said as she examined me. "And I like the new clothing."

"Err, thanks." I hoped I wasn't blushing.

"How long do you have to decide?" She asked as she let go of my hand. We were sitting on a couch that probably the god of forges made, because it was about ten feet long. She laid her head on my shoulder as she stretched out.

"I have until the quest is over." I replied as I stared into the distance. "My father and uncle persuaded them to give me until then."

She nodded. "Good," She replied as she yawned. We sat there for a moment, she thinking about who knows what, and I just thinking about her.

"Why don't you use the name Alexandra?" I asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. She stiffened.

"Because of the title it brings along."

"Defender of men?" I asked confused. "How is that bad?"

She sighed. "It's bad because everyone expects so much out of you. Your friends, your enemies, everyone expects you to have perfect plans and techniques."

I nodded, deciding not to push it any further. A few more minutes passed before I spoke up once more.

"What you thinking about?"

She paused for a moment. "I'm thinking that I'd be pretty happy if right now lasted forever." She said with a smile.

"Oh really?" I asked teasingly as I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

She sat up and playfully punched me in the shoulder. "I think you know why." She was staring into my eyes and I could feel butterflies in my stomach as she looked at me.

Don't repeat that to anyone, I swear to gods.

I (smoothly) softly put a strand of hair that was in her face behind her ear. "I think I have my guesses." I said softly with a smile dancing on my lips.

"I think you're right." She said smiling as she leaned in. Our lips slowly met as she pushed me back into the couch. My brain felt as if an electric current was running through it, short circuiting everything.

I'll spare you the details. Let's just say we got to know each other's mouths pretty well until Luke cleared his throat at the doorway.

"You two ready to leave?" He asked in a strained voice. His blue eyes were glaring in my direction.

Whoops.


	10. Chapter 10

"Yeah," I said in a voice that didn't sound like it belonged to me. Emerald raised an eyebrow as she pushed herself up into a sitting position and fixed her hair.

"You two know the Underworld better than I ever will." She said with her silver clip in her mouth. She had undone her bun and her hair fell messily to below her shoulder blades. She pulled a brush out of her green satchel and began brushing it.

I didn't notice before she had two silver earrings with emeralds in the center, of course. "Luke, where do you last remember?" I asked as I faced him. He had changed into light blue jeans, a black tee shirt and a red jacket.

"I remember Taraturus." He said as he rubbed his temples. "Then I was zoning out and couldn't think straight."

"Why?" Emerald asked beside me. She was braiding her hair, which I only knew because Bianca would do it when her hair was bothering her and wouldn't stay out of her face.

Luke sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "Because that's when Gaea whispered she was using me to get to you." He softly pulled her closer as he spoke, drawing her into him as he smirked towards me. "And I was trying to figure out a way to escape and get through the gate by myself so I could come warn you and attempt to make things right."

My stomach was twisting in knots. He wanted to get me back for making out with her, I knew that for a fact. I tried to show no emotion as I watched her lay against him, his arm comfortably draping across her shoulders.

"If Taraturus was the last place you remember seeing, we might as well take U11." I said, standing up. "I'm sure someone will give me a vehicle."

"U11?" Emerald asked while looking between Luke and I, absolutely confused.

I nodded. "When Daedalus went through Judgment he was sentenced to making everywhere less congested, so he followed the Interstate idea on the earth above and basically made one to fit the Underworld. Hence, Underworld 11."

She nodded. "And you feel when we reach Taraturus,"

"We'll be able to figure out where the Door is." Luke said. I nodded.

"Exactly," I turned towards Luke with my eyebrow raised. "Kronos might be awaiting in Taraturus for you to come closer. What will happen then?"

Luke shrugged. "I highly doubt it, Kronos spread across the world in tiny particles of dust when I stabbed myself and banished him from my body and from becoming his full form."

Emerald bounced up. "Either way, we have to go there. Nico, you said you could get us a car?" I nodded. "Good. Let's get on the road."

* * *

><p>Two hours later we were driving down the road on our way to Taraturus in a similar Charger Apollo had given to us in the beginning of the quest, except for the fact this one was black, not red.<p>

Only Luke and I were awake, which made conversation nonexistent. The Underworld didn't have much for radio signals we had discovered as we drove along. Luke was at the wheel currently, with me in the passenger seat next to him in my surprise. Emerald had called the back seat, claiming she needed more beauty sleep.

Of course, Gaea wouldn't want to make our trip to save the world easy in any way, shape, or form.

I was staring out the window at the passing landscape in the Fields of Asphodel when Luke slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel to the right, barely missing a crack that had formed in front of his tires.

"Wake Emerald up." He shouted as cracks started appearing on either sides of the car as we drove along. I frantically took off my seat belt and jumped in the backseat, feeling the car tilting from side to side as the ground crumbled beneath us.

"Em, wake up!" I said as I shook her shoulders. Her eyes popped open and she popped up, managing to hit my head in the process.

"Sorry!" She said as Luke took a sharp turn left, throwing us into the right door, hitting the back of my head against it. Spots were forming in my eyes, and I couldn't see straight to save my life.

Someone grabbed my hand, and I heard Luke yell something about going down. My name was being called, and I felt like I was floating.

The grip on my hand tightened, and a new pain erupted in my head.

"You will always know." Aphrodite had said when she had touched my head. Did she mean I would always know when Em was in danger?

My sight had partially returned, and I could see that Emerald had a death grip on my hand, and Luke was gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were white. Our car was in the air, free falling to the ground below.

Except we weren't falling at a fast speed that could probably be solved with some stupid math equation. We were floating, being drawn in to something down below us.

I could see two teenage boys waiting below us, with obvious surprise on faces. "Thank you much, father." I said quickly, realizing we would have probably fell to our deaths if he hadn't intervened.

"Em, what's the plan?" I asked as we got closer to the two gods below. They were both wearing motorcycle gang attire, but one was slightly shorter and fatter than the other with brutal scars on his face.

"Phobos and Deimos." Emerald whispered as she stared out the window. "I didn't know they were on Gaea's side."

"I managed to control Ares, so maybe that's what happened to them?" Luke asked from the front seat. "It's quite simple."

"Can you control them, then?" I asked, "Or will we have to fight?"

"Fight." Emerald answered. "They'll be easy once we get past our fears. I know from experience."

I mulled it over for a second. I don't know what I feared. "Once we hit the ground, we got to get out of the car as soon as possible, they weren't expecting a fight." Luke said as he held a hand on the door handle. Emerald nodded as she undid both clips and looked at me.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she stared into my eyes. "Nico, sit this one out. I think hitting your head gave you a concussion."

I shook my head, but as I did the pressure on my head worsened. Emerald must have caught me cringing in pain, because she spoke again. "Nico, let Luke and I handle it. We'll be fine."

"No." I said, finding my voice. Emerald was going to interject, but Luke interrupted.

"Get out!" He yelled as we were three feet above ground. I opened the right door and jumped, rolling away from where the car crashed into the ground.

I heard a laugh from behind me, and my head erupted in pain. "Lookie who we have here," the taller one said as he grabbed Emerald by her jacket. "The Daughter of Nike, pawn of the gods." He held her up off the ground, and her two clips were on the ground, scattered. "Gaea never said how pretty you were, Alexandra."

"And here's Luke," Deimos said as he pointed his sword at the nape of Luke's neck. "Where's the son of Hades?"

"Here." I said, standing up. The burning Underworld car was between me and the two gods who sneered at me. "Let them go." I said, sounding more confident than I felt. My head was pounding from the latest hits, plus the fact that it hurts every time Emerald's in danger.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Phobos asked from where he held Emerald. Her feet were dangling midair, an obvious look of frustration on her face. "You may be in your realm, but I don't think you can take on two gods."

His words echoed in my head. Normally, when I used certain powers I'm drained. Percy has also felt the same way, but he said when he was in his father's realm, he didn't feel drained. He felt more powerful.

Maybe I was the same way.

"What, are you too afraid to take me on?" I called across to them. Emerald was frantically shaking her head, trying to give me the message that I shouldn't fight them. I of course, ignored it.

Deimos laughed. "Us, afraid?" He asked as he looked at me. "Boy, we are fear and terror in person. Do you honestly think you have a chance to beat us?"

"Percy Jackson told me you were rubbish swordfighters." I said with a smile. "Prove it isn't true."

"Boy, you're asking for it." Phobos said as he threw Emerald to the ground. Instantly, she jumped to her clips and turned them into swords, attacking Deimos in the process.

Phobos raced towards me, a wicked three foot long sword in his hand. I twisted my skull ring and ducked beneath his swing, turning around holding my three foot stygian iron sword.

I looked down at the doe in my necklace. This was definitely a time to use it. I twisted it, and felt metal flowing out of the doe, covering my body as I took a step back in shock.

The armor was pitch black, and the silver doe was in the middle of the breastplate. My golden bracelets extended to form vambraces. Phobos gave a low whistle. "That's a pretty trick, boy. Try this one for a change." He said as he raised his hands, his eyes glowing. I knew I shouldn't have but I felt compelled to look straight into them.

"Turn around and look." Phobos said, gloating. I swallowed as I obeyed, knowing that whatever it wasn't going to be pretty.

I was right. Luke's head was detached from his body, obviously dead, his sword sticking out of his own side. "Look at Emerald." Phobos goaded from behind me. It felt as though he was forcing me to turn my head.

She was laying on the ground face up, her throat slit and bubbling with crimson blood. "Nico…" Her hoarse voice said, her eyes staring at me. "Nico… you failed. You couldn't defeat him." My head was pounding.

_Snap out of it, Nico. Or else this really will happen. _A man's voice said inside my head. _Phobos is messing with you. _

I turned back to Phobos. "Liar," I said as I faced him, anticipating any move. "You can't beat me in an actual fight so you have to make up illusions."

He snarled. "You dare challenge me?"

"I do." I said as I sprinted towards him, raising my sword to strike. He move, but I efficiently slashed at his ribcage, making him howl.

We exchanged blows for a minute or two, with me marveling at the newfound strength and speed I'd acquired. Phobos really wasn't that great of a swordsman, like Percy had said. He hid under his ability to put fear into people's minds.

He slashed at my left which I dodged and found an opening to slice at his throat. He bled violently the golden blood of the gods, Ichor, from the wound.

"You'll rue this day, Nico di Angelo." He sputtered as he stared at me with pure hatred. He shrunk in size until he exploded into particles of gold dust.

I wiped my face with my hand as my armor shrunk back into the necklace. "So I guess all of us have killed a god." Emerald said from behind me. Luke was leaning against a rock that was by the car, breathing heavily. Emerald had a few scrapes on her face, but nothing major. Her shoulder seemed to still be healed.

"Luke killed Deimos?"

She nodded. "You were off in lala land and I kind of made a bad decision to try to wake you up. Deimos caught me off guard and almost got me, except Luke stepped in and saved me, just like old times."

Luke coughed, clearly exhausted. "Yeah, no problem." He said as she tossed him a water. "Just next time, can we fight some Dracaena? I liked it better when it was just them. They were easier."

She chuckled. "I'll ask Gaea."


	11. Chapter 11

Percy was right. When you're in your father's realms, your power doesn't drain as quickly as it should. I managed to conjure up three ghost horses and a dozen other cavalry men without breaking a sweat.

Luke was wary of them, however Alexandra seemed to welcome the idea, itching to jump on.

"We'll ride for a while then sleep. How long before we reach Taraturus, Nico?" She asked, turning towards me. Her eyes were tired and her hair was up in a plain ponytail behind her head. She wore a lime green Underarmor V neck and a pair of black cargo pants. She shivered as she rubbed her hands on her arms.

"Here," I said, pulling off my leather jacket and handing it to her. She accepted it gratefully, throwing it on. I had to admit, it probably looked cuter on her than it did me. "We should reach Taraturus if we ride for about three hours today and rest, cause you both know we need to. We should make it there midday tomorrow."

She nodded, as if she had expected this information. Luke had a look of displease as he stared at the coat I had given her. Slowly, Luke's head turned to where he met my eyes, and I felt my lips move into a smirk. Alexandra at least acted as if she didn't notice, and hopped on her horse. "C'mon boys, I want to get away from here."

Luke and I broke our silent stare down as we both moved to get on our separate horses. Both of us wanting to please her.

* * *

><p>Three hours later I was laying beneath the dark Underworld cavern, listening to the soft breaths of Alexandra as they slowed to an even pace. Luke had been insistent on keeping watch, which I had to relent to since the horses had required so much energy.<p>

I could feel someone wanting to pull my conscious away to wherever they were. I considered this for a moment, then made a decision which sometimes is the best, sometimes the worst.

I let my conscious soar and head surprisingly towards my father's palace. My feet touched ground again in front of the door to my father's chamber. Before, I'd open it with dread, but now I confidently opened it and walked to face him.

He sat on his throne, waiting for me as my footsteps echoed through his throne room. Persephone sat at his right, her throne a silver while his gold. Bone trees were to both sides of me with jewels as leaves.

"Hello, my son." His booming voice said I approached. My form was a shimmering one, not exactly my full body, but I still held the shape. I kneeled in front of the two of them.

"Hello, father, Persephone." I said in a good natured tone. Our relationship had improved since the Battle of Manhattan for the better.

My father had pale, paler than snow skin with black eyes that Percy once described to me as madman eyes. He had greasy black hair that was a mess, and a dark robe with souls that wanted to escape.

Persephone had a kind smile and was pretty beautiful, but when she was in the Underworld she seemed like she was washed out. Both of them looked upon me kindly, which I saw as a good sign.

"I thank you for thanking me," My father started, "However I wasn't the one controlling the car."

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. "No one else in the car could have slowed it from falling."

"What if they didn't slow the car, but slowed time itself?" Persephone asked calmly as she looked at me.

"You mean…" I said slowly, putting two and two together.

Hades shrugged. "That was only our guess. When we finish talking, I'll send you over to someone who would know more than I."

I nodded, unsure by who he meant. "What else did you need to talk to me about?"

"Have you made your decision yet?" He asked as he stared at me.

Shaking my head, I sat down on the cold, black marble floor. "No, I have not."

Hades nodded as he stood back up, walking over towards me. "I'm sending you over to Annabeth."

"What?" I exclaimed, jumping back up to my feet as he clapped his hands together. For a moment my vision went black.

My head killed as my vision came back to me at a breathtaking pace. I was standing in my ghost me in a cabin in a ship. Percy and Annabeth were bent over a blue print of some sort, heads together as they whispered. I was glad they were back together again, and really hoped Percy would forgive me for saying I didn't know him.

"Hey." I said, giving an awkward wave. Both Annabeth and Percy jumped in surprise as they stared at me.

"Nico?" Percy asked, standing up with Annabeth following. "Are you here, or are you a ghost?"

I looked down at myself. "I guess you could say I'm a ghost of some sort. Actually I'm miles away in the Underworld asleep while Luke Castellan stands guard."

There was silence for a full moment before Annabeth spoke. "Nico, what happened?" She asked carefully as she stared at me. "You look, well, you look different."

"I never would have thought Alexandra would be the trusting type on Luke." Annabeth said after I explained everything. "She had a soft spot for him, sure, and after Thalia was turned into a tree they went out. She always blamed herself for Luke going over to Kronos, but she always swore that she'd rather him be dead than Kronos and him both alive."

"What about now?" I asked, sitting at the table. "Luke's back and alive. And apparently Kronos-free."

Percy shook his head. "I wouldn't be so sure. We never could find out where Kronos went."

"And you said Luke slowed time so the car would land safely?" I nodded. "I think at least a part of Kronos is still attached to Luke, whether he knows it or not. Once you harbor a god or titan it never quite goes away."

"Do you think Kronos will take over when we reach Taraturus?" I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"You better hope not," She replied, "Because no offence, but only Alexandra would be able to stop Kronos without a prophecy."


	12. Chapter 12

My father must had decided that I had heard enough, because the next moment I was laying back in the Underworld, my eyes wide open. I was mentally exhausted, but physically I felt amazing. I sat up, running my hands through my hair.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Alexandra whispered a couple of feet ahead of me, sitting on the ground. She must have been keeping watch since her two swords laid at her feet. She motioned for me to come over, and I happily obliged. I sat next to her, and she laid her head against my shoulder.

"Sleep well?" I asked, staring off into the distance.

She shrugged. "Sorta, but I've had better nights."

"Dreams?"

"Yeah," She said as we sat there. She grabbed one of my hands. "Gaea was trying to psych me out."

"What'd she say?" I asked as I rubbed my thumb on the back of her hand. I was content with this, wishing it could stay like this forever, but I knew that there were more important things to do.

She sighed. "She was just trying to scare me away from completing the quest. It's nothing." She said, waving her hand as if to say it wasn't important. "You were out like a rock, where'd you go?"

I told her about my conversation with my father and Persephone, leaving out what Annabeth and Percy had said about her. She clicked with her tongue.

"I don't know, Nico. I think he's just got some leftover powers from Kronos."

"What if not? What if Kronos is still living inside him? Once he comes near Taraturus, maybe Kronos will take over his mind and body."

She shook her head. "No, Nico, I don't think it'll happen." She said, removing her hand from mine. She sat up straight, and I groaned.

"Look, I talked to Annabeth and Percy." I said, hating to play this card. "They wanted me to pass this on to you. If Luke does end up being taken over by Kronos, you're the only who'd be able to do it without a prophecy."

A long silence passed between the two of us. "Nico," She said, speaking finally. "I'm going to wake up Luke, then we're going to go." She stood up, grabbing her two swords.

I stood up. "What are you trying to prove, Emerald? You and I both know that he slowed time so the car wouldn't kill us. I understand you blame yourself for Luke being taken over the first time, but that doesn't mean you should be ignorant of the facts that it's most likely going to happen again!" I said in a loud whisper, careful to not wake Luke who was sleeping a few feet away. Kronos probably heard it all, though.

"I'm not trying to prove anything, Nico." She spat back at me as she moved to wake him up.

"Way to go." A shimmering form said in front of me, motioning me to follow it. She had flowing black hair and eyes that changed colors as I looked at her. I nodded slowly, looking over at where Luke and Emerald were eating, their backs towards me.

After a couple of yards, the form sat down on a black rock. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a flowing, pink, strapless shirt. "Don't worry," She said, as she patted the spot next to me. "They think you're still with them, just quieter. Emerald knows something's up, but Luke hasn't had a clue." She paused for a moment. "I'll send you back if there's any trouble, I promise."

"You're quest and deadline is up soon." Aphrodite said as we sat there. She reminded me a lot of Emerald, beautiful and lethal. She smiled as if she heard that.

"I think I know my answer."

"Is it the answer I'm thinking?" She asked with a smile, a breath taking one.

I nodded. "Yes, I answer yes."

"Hold on." She said, grabbing my arm. And before I knew it, I was in Olympus again."

"Good." Zeus said from where he sat as the head of the Olympians. I knelt beneath him. "Nico di Angelo, do you swear your life to serving the gods as you see fit?"

"I do." I said, unsure of why we were doing this now. "Is there something the matter?"

"Other than the fact that two demigods are going to have to fight not only Porphyrion, bane of Zeus, but also the Lord of Time? Nothing." Ares said sarcastically from his seat.

"Gaea moved her first in command to take the two of you out." Artemis explained as she jumped off her seat, making herself my height. "And with Luke unconsciously holding a piece of Kronos' soul, well, we wanted you to say yes now."

"I'll be ready to assist you once you get Porphyrion mainly dead." My father helpfully supplied from his throne.

"Wait," I said pausing. "Are you saying I'm the one to defeat the giant?"

"Yes." Poseidon said from his throne beside Zeus. "You have to defeat the giant and close the Doors of Death. Emerald will have her hands full with killing Luke, something she's been raised and trained to do."

"Nico, we'll make you stronger and faster, but that's really all we can do. You've got to kill Porphyrion." Artemis said. Her lips moved more, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. My head held a sharp pain and I collapsed to the ground.

"She's in danger." I managed to get out as Artemis ran towards me.

She nodded. "We'll get you there as soon as I snap my fingers." She said, placing a hand on my head. She murmured a few words in Ancient Greece, then snapped.


	13. Chapter 13

"Shit." I yelled as I hit the ground hard, back in the Underworld. Emerald was kneeling ten feet away from me, trying to keep a convulsing Luke down. His eyes were closed shut painfully, and he was flopping around like a fish. She briefly glanced behind her, and once she saw it was me, motioned for me to come here.

"Careful, he's fighting for control." She whispered, her eyes misty with tears. I nodded as I helped hold his other arm down, watching her carefully in the corner of my eye. Her lips were pursed and she was sheet white, obviously running options through her head.

"Em," I started, reaching out to rest my hand on her shoulder out of comfort. She met my eyes for a moment, a tear slipping down her face as she quickly brushed it off.

"Foolish demigods!" Luke/Kronos cackled as his eyes popped open, revealing the golden eyes I thought I'd never see again. A chill ran through my spine as those eyes moved their way to look at me. Kronos took my shock as an opportunity, and quickly lifted his arm as if he was swatting at a fly (which is probably what he thought of me). I instantly shot back, something pushing on my chest as I flew through the air.

Emerald jumped up as I hit the ground, putting herself in between Kronos and I. "Kronos," She started, "get out of his body. Now."

"What are you going to do, Alexandra? If you kill me, you're killing Luke too. Unless you're perfectly willing to give yourself up and see whether you've got the willpower to defeat me from within." Kronos said, taking another step closer to Emerald. "Luke did that, you know."

"Emerald," I said, standing up although I swayed a bit. "Emerald, Luke chose his death and he died a hero. He wouldn't want you to die for him."

"Fine words, son of Hades. But I'd stay out of this fight. You've got your own to deal with, if I'm not mistaken." Kronos said, smirking at me as he stared deep in my eyes.

As if on cue, loud footsteps rumbled, shaking the ground beneath my feet. Kronos smirked, "Try not to die, son of Hades. I'm pretty sure the gods would be mad if both their pawns died."

"Emerald, no!" I yelled, diving to grab her arm as she charged at Kronos, swinging blindly through her tears. Kronos cackled, producing Luke's sword and blocking her. He swung and she ducked underneath, trying to stay away from Backbiter. I quickly got up from my knees, rushing at Kronos out of pure rage.

"Nico, stop!" Emerald yelled, blocking Kronos. He smirked as he flicked his hand again, sending me back ten feet again. I landed hard on back, knocking the wind out of me and sending my sword flying.

My head was on fire, but my eyesight was sharper than ever. I struggled to get back on my feet, watching painfully as Kronos and Emerald did a dangerous dance in front of me. Depending on the way you thought about it, Kronos had more scratches on him, but Emerald was tiring quickly. I stood up, moving to grab my sword, when I actually noticed the shadow above me.

"Nico, move!" Emerald yelled as she glanced back. I obeyed and dived backwards as a fist slammed into the ground, pieces of obsidian rock slamming into my face. I knelt, wiping the blood and dust off my face as I glanced up.

"This is the boy who is supposed to be able to defeat me? Pathetic." Porphyrion said, laughing as he reached to grab me.

Without thinking, I lifted my hand and made a black obsidian wall between Porphyrion and I. His hand hit the wall, bouncing it back instead of shattering the wall.

I have no idea how in Hades I managed to do that. I stared down at my two hands, realizing they didn't look any different than before. I smirked, looking back at Porphyrion again.

"Looks like I'm harder to deal with than you thought, huh?" I asked as I stood up, both hands up and ready.

Porphyrion looked at me with his ugly eyebrows raised, his creepy white eyes staring at me in amusement. I swallowed, realizing that he's probably twelve times my height. His green hair was long and braided down his back, with weapons sticking out of it. "Prepare to die, foolish demigod."


End file.
